In the last debate, Bush assured those who are receiving social security benefits that the checks would keep coming. He then proceeded to share his idea of allowing young people to invest their social security money, rather than paying into the traditional system. But there was nothing in Bush’s little black bag for a large portion of America’s population. Many of these forgotten Americans are the ones who have been paying into the social security system for decades and were looking forward to being able to retire in the next 10 to 15 years.

They’re not wealthy enough to have been able to set aside a nest egg for the future. They have had to utilize all of their earnings just to get by. The places where they work offer no pensions. Social security was their one and only hope….no…not hope! These people expected (especially after the Clinton administration had fixed it) that their social security benefits would be there when they retired. Now Greenspan has told these people that they are SOL.

If Bush has his way, what do you think will happen to these forgotten Americans?

The government already treats SS income as general funds. All that need to be changed is to treat the payoffs as general expenditures like they do with general welfare. Maintain the payments while converting the income to a lightly regulated investment system (401k style), As for current and future recipients: The government has made a promise to everyone that has paid in. Part of that money is mine and I intend to collect. Making cuts in other programs and encouraging more economic growth will be the best way to make the gap in funding.